Brazil sets 33% higher bidding cap for Aug 28 solar auction

Brazil's power sector regulator Aneel said Tuesday it has approved a price cap of BRL 349 (USD 103.21/EUR 93.35) per MWh for the August 28 solar-only energy auction.

The new bidding cap represents an increase of about 33% over the limit of BRL 262 per MWh in the country's first solar energy auction. As early as March experts projected that the August auction would bring about 30% higher bidding prices then these in October 2014. The forecast was mainly based on the US dollar's appreciation, but not only.

Next month's tender will take place in Sao Paulo for the contracting of new solar power generation for 20 years, with supply starting on January 1, 2017. State-owned energy firm Empresa de Pesquisa Energetica (EPE) has accredited 382 solar photovoltaic (PV) projects with a combined capacity of 12.528 MWp for this tender, the first reserve energy auction of the year. The majority of the projects are located in the northeast region of the country, particularly in the states of Bahia -- 4,409.2 MWp registered, and Piaui -- 2,076.8 MWp.

At the end of October 2014, project developers won contracts for 889.7 MW of solar capacity in the previous government auction. Back then Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) said that even the average electricity sale price in the auction, BRL 215/MWh, is among the lowest ever recorded for solar power.

(BRL 1 = USD 0.295/EUR 0.267)

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